Leukemia's Effects
by hmdchickadee
Summary: About Ren and his mother before she died.  Based off of the remake/2011 version.


**It's a little one shot i thought of last night. Based off of the Remake/2011 version. I hope you like it!**

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><p>Leukemia's Effects<p>

Ren MacCormack rarely paid any attention when he heard the word leukemia. And when he did, he thought "those suckers. Their loss," and donated not even a penny.

Now, Ren wasn't the boy who grew up spoiled and living in a penthouse in New York. He grew up in Boston, in a ratty old apartment with his parents. When you saw him you'd say "are you sure he lives _there_?" With his gelled up hair, pure milk chocolate brown eyes and perfect smile, he looked like a movie star. He acted like it, too.

Ren was on the gymnastics team, where there, he was one of best. He could do the double bar, but what surprised people were his flips. They were amazing, and helped take them to Russia. And boy, did he know it.

His true passion was dancing, and everyone knew it. Whenever Ren started dancing, everyone's eyes were on him. Ren danced whenever he could, and didn't give a damn what of anyone thought of it. They _were _in Boston.

His father never did anything. He stayed home every day, and sat on the couch, watching ESPN and complaining about the world. It was never a surprise when he left, never to be heard from again.

The reason he left was because of Ren's mother, Susannah. Susannah was strong, to be able to take double shifts at the Deli and to raise her son single handedly, it was no easy feat. Especially when her husband left.

It had started just after Ren turned sixteen. Two weeks to be exact. One day, Ren came home to find bloodstained paper towels in the garbage can, and the bathroom door locked. "Mom," he had asked, knocking on the door.

She moaned, trying to make it sound like she was alright. But Ren knew better. He broke down the door to see his mom lying on the ground, by the toilet, bruised. Ren picked up his mother, and carried her to his beat up, rusty old Ford pickup, in which he drove her to the hospital.

After many tests, a few CAT scans, an x-ray, and a MRI, the answer was clear: Susannah MacCormack had leukemia. For the next year and a half, Ren took care of his mother, up until the day she died. Now Ren was the one who was strong.

Every day, it was the same. Ren would wake up, shower, make sure his mother was alright, and drive to school. After school, he'd work at a mechanic's for a few hours, getting paid double. Then, he'd come home, help his mother out, cooked dinner, and did homework. On the weekends, he'd be in the shop from nine to five, working on whatever he could. Even with Ren's job, they barely scraped by.

Because of his mother's disease, Ren quit the gymnastics team, rarely dated, and lost most of his friends. The few that hung around while he worked knew as soon as the clock struck six, Ren rushed home, yelling the word "mom" at them. Only a total of five people knew what "mom" meant: Ren had to make sure his mom was alright.

Ren always did what the doctors said, making sure his mom had enough to drink, ate as much as she could, and took her daily vitamins and medicines. He thought that maybe if he did everything right, his mother wouldn't die. That theory wasn't true. Every day, she would be weaker and weaker, until she could barely move and was deathly pale. While Ren was in school, she died, lying in her bed.

Somehow, Ren felt that his mother wasn't alright, and left school early, claiming he had an upset stomach. He came home and saw his mother dead, on her bed. The first thing he did was that he called his mother's doctor, explaining that she died.

The doctor gave Ren directions, and a few days later, the funeral was held. The normal, caring look in Ren's milk chocolate brown eyes was replaced by pain and sadness. Like usual, Ren dressed as a preppy boy, and even gelled up his hair. But what had shocked everyone was that Ren MacCormack started crying, and couldn't talk about his mother. He could barely talk about her at all.

After cleaning out the apartment, and selling it to a mechanic who worked a few blocks away, Ren packed up his stuff into a duffel bag and boarded the Greyhound to Bomont, GA.

Ren left Boston for a new life with his Uncle Wes, Aunt Lulu and cousins Amy and Sarah. He came to Bomont not knowing how much trouble he'd get in. How he'd end up yelling at his principal, start a petition, and date the reverend's daughter. In a place where dancing and loud music was banned, what would happen to Ren? He'd be just fine, with his friends Willard, Woody, Rusty, and of course, Ariel.

He'd be racing busses, going to a club to dance, and save Ariel from being run over by a train. He would teach Willard how to dance and save the town from the crazy ordinances. But most important, he saved the Bomont Senior Prom. In short, Ren would be having the time of his life.


End file.
